Advertisement
Published: February 16th 2023
It was an arbitrary shot for me to define where the subject of Antarctica ended and that of Argentina began. Both transpired in the southern Atlantic Ocean and both occurred under less than pleasant weather conditions. All I know is that our stop in Falkland Islands had been cancelled because of high seas, and we spent three days on the oceans blue. We had not set foot on solid ground for nine days. That stint gave me cause to admire the crews of yore like those of the
Nina,
Pinta and
Santa Maria and the passengers of the
Mayflower even more greatly than I did before. After all, they didn’t even have a comedian to entertain them in the evening, and I doubt that cheesecake was on the menu!
By the time I had finished my coffee on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 and had made my way to the Lido Café for breakfast, we were secured to the dock at Puerto Madryn, Argentina. I had no shore excursions booked and took my time with breakfast. Mid-morning, I made my way to the half-mile long pier. It was a beautiful day with pleasant temperatures, a nice ocean breeze and low humidity.
From Dock to Town – Puerto Madryn, Argentina
Shuttles Were Provided to Avoid the Lengthy Walk to ShoreI was tempted to walk the pier into town but decided I’d better leave my bullets in the gun and, if there was any ammo remaining after exploring Puerto Madryn, walk the pier back to the ship. The shuttle bus navigated the length of the pier and dropped all the cruise ship passengers at the base of the pier, right in the middle of the downtown area. I no more than departed the shuttle and traditional Argentinian music met my ears, and I found two ladies performing a traditional dance,
With beachfront on one side of the main street and stores and restaurants along the other side, I “shopped” my way to an outdoor café where I stopped for, what else, a cup of Americano coffee. Puerto Madryn is a quaint, not-so-little town that provided a very pleasant shopping experience for this non-shopper. I decided I’d rather walk the vibrant community than the mundane pier, so I shopped until I was half-tired before heading back to the shuttle pick-up point. When I arrived at the shuttle stop, I was slightly disappointed to see that the dancers were gone but a different band was playing. Back on the still Internetless
From Dock to Town – Puerto Madryn, Argentina
Just Feet from the Pier, We Are Introduced to Argentinian Culture MS Volendam, I had become bored by mid-afternoon and went back to town to sample local brew at a nice outdoor pub I had spotted earlier. I know nothing about any of the shore excursions but can say that an hour or two ashore in Puerto Madryn is well worth the (non)effort.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.408s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 15; qc: 63; dbt: 0.161s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
